This invention relates to the separation of ethylbenzene from xylenes by extractive distillation.
Extractive distillation is a well known technique for separating mixtures of components having a relative volatility close to unity (i.e., having nearly equal volatility and having nearly the same boiling point). It is difficult to separate the components of such mixtures by conventional fractional distillation. In extractive distillation, an entrainer (also called solvent or extractant) is introduced into a distillation column above the entry point of the feed mixture which is to be separated. The entrainer affects the volatility of the higher boiling feed component(s) sufficiently to facilitate the separation of the various feed components by distillation and exits with the bottoms fraction, as has been described in the article entitled "Extractive Distillation Saves Energy" by Ian Sucksmith, Chemical Engineering, Jun. 28, 1982, pages 91-95. Other literature sources on extractive distillation techniques include the "Handbook of Separation Techniques for Chemical Engineers" by Philip A. Schweitzer, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1979, pages 1-135 to 1-143; and Perry's Chemical Engineers Handbook, 6th Edition, McGraw-Hill Book Company 1984, pages 13-53 to 13-57.
Even though extractive distillation processes for separating ethylbenzene from xylenes are known and have been described in the patent literature, e.g., in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,299,668, 4,292,142, 3,105,017 and 2,532,031, there is still a need for developing novel effective entrainers for the extractive distillation of ethylbenzene/xylene mixtures.